mk1-forum.net

Jeeez when did the McCartney car appear? Didn’t see it Friday

Been wondering about that too - did Steve Burkinshaw or Christian Horner drive it elsewhere on the site on Friday...?

Have we had this one before... looks like it was taken in '68 going by Macca's appearance...

It arrived late Friday night, we gave Steve a hand to get it off the trailer, I've touched a Beatles Mini (or maybe 3 )

Yes we've had that one at some point Nidge, another great fan photo that proves the car was either stolen or smashed up and reshelled around 1967. You can clearly see that the car has lost it's black vinyl cant rail trim fitted by Radford and evident on earlier photos and it's '65 era side clip that should be attached to it for the swivel visor has gone. I presume Radford did the work/reshell and painted the new shell inside. Normally of course they only covered over factory interior paint with trim/carpet. The current car shows the same detail plus other post '65 features and no doubt the same car Macca continued to use thereafter until the end of his ownership. The mystery is how and why?? Ive chatted with a few people about this and my best guess would be someone (Alex Mardas?) was involved in an accident as was rumoured in period (maybe uninsured?), or it was stolen, or maybe drugs/alcohol were involved and the story was covered up. Not sure we'll ever know!

Great photo though and alongside all the other contemporary images of Macca/Asher/Eastman in the car illustrate just how much it was used throughout the heyday of the Beatles.

The lack of windscreen washer holes tells me it was a new shell and not a donor car Radford’s used to rebuild the car after ‘Magic Alex’ crashed the car. So therefore it’s a period reshell by McCartney rather than a new car, which makes it even more desirable in my eyes!

Too be honest Pete I had a feeling it *may* have already been posted bit with 49 pages to trawl through I thought well, why not...!

During that really busy creative period from late '66 (after they'd given up touring) the Fabs were constantly moving about London and Surrey in the Minis and other motors, sometimes lending them to each other and close friends in their 'inner circle' so it wouldn't surprise me one bit if someone borrowed it and had a bit of a shunt but like you say it'll always be a mystery. Magic Alex was a strange character and has been photographed in several Beatles' cars, but it also wouldn't surprise me if Terry Doran borrowed Macca's Radford a fair bit. Lennon's school chum Pete Shotton would often chauffeur all four of the lads around in various cars, particularly John as he lived with him at Kenwood for a while. In his book he wrote about taking John and Yoko house hunting in '68 in a psychedelic Mini Cooper which would obviously have been George's Radford, so they did share their cars sometimes.

And still talking of Radfords - one of the traders at Stanford Hall yesterday had a set of Radford door step plates for sale, I was too chicken to ask how much but they looked brand new so may have been copies.

Nevsmini wrote:The lack of windscreen washer holes tells me it was a new shell and not a donor car Radford’s used to rebuild the car

Yes a new shell hence why they didn't use trim to cover the factory paint as normal. I see no reason Radford couldn't still have done the job though.

Yes that’s my thoughts, that Radford reshelled it with a new shell!

WMU 211G wrote: but like you say it'll always be a mystery

Precisely, no solid facts around to go off, just retold stories with no provenance. Maybe one day Macca might tell Geri, bearing in mind Geri's a close friend of Stella, I could see more info coming out one day. Maybe not for public consumption though? Ive read so much supposition and piffle about these cars over the years and it just goes round and round it'd be great to hear about the car from the man himself.

Terry Doran who ran Brydor was always and still is a very private man. He could have written a very interesting book about his time with the band both before, during and after their existance but has always chosen to keep it all private.

Are you going to any of the Mark Lewisohn lectures/shows later this year Nidge? I'm really looking forward to it, I reckon he'll possibly know, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the band as I'm sure you'll know.

I snapped a heap of photos of Christian/Geri with the cars at Goodwood, they came across as being genuinely excited about the cars though doubt their interest will ever get as bad as ours!

The great thing about original cars like this is the detail is not blurred memory! and either is period photos! You just need to know and understand what you are looking at!

Nevsmini wrote:Yes that’s my thoughts, that Radford reshelled it with a new shell!

Yep got it, agree with that.

I think it would have been kept 'in-house'. Like that well known photo of George's car in Radfords could possibly be the car returning for a repaint in 'orange' before the Dutch hippies were let loose on it with their paint brushes. Again , possibly in Radfords. I've tried to contact Eddie Collins about all this but not been successful plus I think he'd left for W&P by then anyway.

I also strongly suspect that Radford sales manager Nick van Dersteen could have had the answers to all these questions but sadly he passed away a few years ago.

Pete wrote:

WMU 211G wrote: but like you say it'll always be a mystery

Precisely, no solid facts around to go off, just retold stories with no provenance. Maybe one day Macca might tell Geri, bearing in mind Geri's a close friend of Stella, I could see more info coming out one day. Maybe not for public consumption though? Ive read so much supposition and piffle about these cars over the years and it just goes round and round it'd be great to hear about the car from the man himself.

Terry Doran who ran Brydor was always and still is a very private man. He could have written a very interesting book about his time with the band both before, during and after their existance but has always chosen to keep it all private.

Are you going to any of the Mark Lewisohn lectures/shows later this year Nidge? I'm really looking forward to it, I reckon he'll possibly know, he has an encyclopedic knowledge of the band as I'm sure you'll know.

I snapped a heap of photos of Christian/Geri with the cars at Goodwood, they came across as being genuinely excited about the cars though doubt their interest will ever get as bad as ours!

Didn't know Mark was doing the lectures / shows Pete, sounds interesting...

The photos we 'have' so far of the Beatles Minis are probably just the tip of the iceberg if they feature in private family photos which we'll no doubt never see. Ringo was particularly prolific with his camera. A thought has just occurred as I'm typing this - the 1968 photos taken by that fan (sorry I forget his name) who blagged a lift in John's black Radford down to George's pad in Esher and snapped George and Ringo with their Minis side by side.... what a pity he didn't get a photo of all three cars together on George's drive. I wonder which car Macca went down in that day, the Radford or the Aston DB6...? Another pointless 'what if' I suppose, and yes, haven't we got it bad mate... !!

WMU 211G wrote: A thought has just occurred as I'm typing this - the 1968 photos taken by that fan (sorry I forget his name) who blagged a lift in John's black Radford down to George's pad in Esher and snapped George and Ringo with their Minis side by side.... what a pity he didn't get a photo of all three cars together on George's drive. I wonder which car Macca went down in that day, the Radford or the Aston DB6...? Another pointless 'what if' I suppose, and yes, haven't we got it bad mate... !!

His story (Michael Herring) was that Macca didn't show up that day. Yes we do have it bad.

This all ties in with the year of the new shell used.

on 7 January 1967 McCartney's Mini Cooper was involved in an accident on the M1 motorway outside London, as a result of which it was written off. However, the car was being driven by a Moroccan student named Mohammed Hadjij, and McCartney was not present.

Hadjij was an assistant to London art gallery owner Robert Fraser. The pair turned up at McCartney's house on the evening of 7 January, and were later joined by Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Brian Jones and antiques dealer Christopher Gibbs.

The party decided to head to Jagger's home in Hertfordshire, before moving on to Redlands, Richards' Sussex mansion (and scene of his later drugs bust). McCartney travelled with Jagger in the latter's Mini Cooper, while Hadjij drove in McCartney's Mini.

The two cars became separated during the journey. Hadjij crashed McCartney's Mini and was hospitalised with injuries. The heavily customised car was highly recognisable, so rumours began circulating that McCartney had been killed in the incident.

Another article on the same lines,

On January 7, 1967 McCartney's Mini Cooper really did crash, and as a result a few newspapers did report he had died. However, McCartney wasn't in the car when it crashed. He was safe at a party in Sussex. The man driving the car (who didn't die either) was Mohammed Hadjij, who allegedly was using the car to transport drugs up to the partyers in Sussex. After this incident, a few scattered rumors of Paul's death and replacement by a double were reportedly overheard at London parties.

With the detail on the current shell telling us it a 1967 shell and period photos telling us the same, that coupled with the fact that all the Radford parts are from a 65 Spec Radford and not a 67 Spec Radford that put together with period articles of the crash taking place in Jan 1967 I think it all points to a crash taking place that Paul wanted to cover up as it would have been easier just to buy a 67 spec Radford and it’s not like he was short of the cash!

Brilliant recap Nev! Now then, I wonder what happened to the remains of the original shell... er… er… er…

I've recently read Simon Wells excellent book on the Redlands bust which happened on 12th Feb' 67, it confirms that George and Patti Harrison were there from about 5.30pm to 8.00pm, apparently they got a bit bored and left, departing down Keith's driveway in ''their black customised Mini Cooper'' just minutes before Chichester's finest rozzers knocked on the door with a search warrant. There's no confirmation that the law knew they were there that night but rumours and conspiracies came about soon afterwards about ''the old Bill not wanting to bust any of the Beatles just yet, it's the Stones we really want''. Mohammed Hadjij and Robert Fraser were both there too and despite the press often making out that The Beatles and Stones were 'enemies' they were in and out of each other's houses a lot during '66 and '67.

Nidge, got it bad, News At Ten

The thing is where are those stories from, ie from national newspapers or more spurious sources? I’ve read at least two more similar but fundamentally different stories printed in student rags etc. I even had someone (as one of the stories does) try to convince me how the current copy of McCartney is actually a doppelgänger. So even Macca was reshelled!!

Pete wrote:The thing is where are those stories from, ie from national newspapers or more spurious sources? I’ve read at least two more similar but fundamentally different stories printed in student rags etc. I even had someone (as one of the stories does) try to convince me how the current copy of McCartney is actually a doppelgänger. So even Macca was reshelled!!

Peter you sound like Mr Trump now "FAKE NEWS"

Nevsmini wrote:

Pete wrote:
Peter you sound like Mr Trump now "FAKE NEWS"

He might have a point then! Just easier to deal with more solid info. Look at some of the total crap we see on the internet, published as fact, or printed in magazines, in thirty years time no doubt people may assume everything is fact. Or some of the claims made about some pretty famous cars. It’s easy to just make stuff up, (the press just want ‘the story’ afterall) much harder to find the provenance but it’s all out there. When purposely made up fiction becomes fact all it does is to make a mockery of history but when there’s so much money in all this, be it publishing or car values, or prestige to be gained then sadly it’s gonna happen.